Infant feeding device



Oct. 20, 1964 A. R. WESTERBACK 3,153,556

INFANT FEEDING DEVICE Filed Aug. 1, 1963 United States Patent v 3,153,556 N INFANT FEEDHQG DEVICE Arne R. Westerback, 792 ()sceola Ave, St. Paul, Minn. Filed Aug. 1, 1963, Ser. No. 299,397 Claims. (Cl. 297194) This invention relates to an infant feeding device, particularly suitable for use in feeding milk or formula from a bottle or other suitable container in conjunction with an infant seat. In one aspect, this invention relates to a simple and inexpensive device for the unattended feeding of infants in a partially reclining position.

The recent development and commercial success of infants seats or supporting stands capable of holding a baby in an inclined position has simplified many problems in transporting and supporting infants. Most of these seats are molded of plastic and are designed to provide proper body support for the infant during their first six months or one year. Representative infant seats are described in United States Letters Patent Nos. 2,324,421 and 3,006,688 which are incorporated herein by reference. Because these infant seats support the baby at an inclined angle, the body position may be changed without danger of injury, and the arms and legs are free at all times. When a chest support or other suitable harness is employed to keep the baby from falling forward or rolling to either side, the parent can safely leave the baby unattended for short periods of time.

Certain accessories have been made available for such inclined seats, including automobile seat attachments, adjustable supports for providing a variety of inclined positions, toys designed to amuse and pacify the infant, etc. However, even with the proper feeding position provided by the inclined infant seat, the manual feeding of infants has still required the constant attention of one parent and has been both troublesome and time consuming. Because of such manual feeding technique, the infant learns to rely on the parent rather than to develop self-feeding skills.

Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a simple infant bottle feeding device which minimizes attention and manual effort by the parent and which teaches the infant self-feeding skills.

Another object of this invention is to provide an infant feeding device which can be used as a detachable accessory with an inclined infant seat, permitting baby feeding in a proper body position.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an infant feeding device which can be manipulated by the infant with a minimum of training and which serves also to amuse the infant and provide certain training in coordination.

A further object of this invention is to provide a feeding device which permits removal of the infant from an infant seat without detachment of the device therefrom.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide an inexpensive infant feeding device which simplifies the feeding operation and minimizes the danger of spilling or other feeding accident.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the accompanying description and figures illustrating preferred embodiments.

Illustrative embodiments of this invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of one preferred embodiment of the infant feeding device;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary view illustrating the manner in which the infant feeding device is detachably mounted in one position on a seat;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of a second preferred embodiment of the infant feeding device;

FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view of the embodiment illustrated in FIGURE 3; and

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FIGURE 5 illustrates an alternate manner in which the infant feeding device is detachably mounted on a seat.

In general, the infant feeding device of this invention comprises at least one bracket member having two downwardly extending legs, said legs being attached at their upper portion to a bottle retaining means for the infants bottle, each of the legs having a detachable fastening means at its lower portion and having means for pivotal movement of the legs about the detachable fastening means. The detachable fastening means may itself constitute the means for permitting pivotal movement of the legs, or separate means for providing said pivotal movement of the legs may be provided. Such detachable fastening means is necessary to permit mounting the device securely on the infant seat or other similar baby support holding the infant in an inclined or partially reclining position. A full understanding of the invention will be obtained by referring to the preferred embodiments, which will now be described in conjunction with the figures.

In one preferred embodiment, shown in FIGURE 1, the device contains two upright members or legs 1, which may be constructed of heavy gauge wire, plastic or metal tubing. Each upright member has two arms, a forward arm 2 and a rearward arm 3, forming a support for a bottle cradle. Cross member '4 connects each upright member at the juncture of the two arms and forms a bracket therewith. A second cross member or brace 5 connects the upper extremities of the rearward arms and, together with cross member 4, stabilizes the spacial relationship of the two upright members in juxtaposition. Two bracing members 6 link the upper extremity of each forward arm 2 with its respective rearward arm 3 to maintain their relative position. Metal or plastic carrier loops 7 and 8 are suspended from the upper extremities of forward arms 2 and rearward arms 3 respectively, forming a cradle means for an infant bottle. The curvature of forward carrier loop 7 is of somewhat smaller radius than rearward carrier loop 8 to permit loop 7 to fit snugly around the neck of an infant bottle and prevent the bottle body from slipping forward when mounted in the cradle assembly. Moreover, carrier loop 7 is preferably formed with its lower circular portion extending over at least a degree are to permit it to serve as a bottle clip and to provide a secure snap on fit for the neck of the bottle. The lower extremity 9 of each of the upright members 1 is bent inwardly at substantially a right angle and the ends 10 are crimped, forming a detachable fastening means and providing an axis for the pivotal movement of the upright members. For adjusting the position and angle of the bottle carried in the cradle means, upright members 1 and the rearwardly extending legs 3 may be made in two sections connected at 12 by a telescoping or sliding joint having a set screw, or by any other suitable adjustable joint, thus permitting the extension or contraction of the upright members 1 and the rearwardly extending legs 3.

In operation the feeding device of FIGURE 1 is attached to the side walls of an infant seat 13, shown in FIGURE 2, by inserting the lower bent portions 9 of both upright members 1 into a vertically elongated slot 14 in the side walls. The crimped ends 10 of bent portions 9 insert readily through the slot when the feeding device is in the vertical position. As the legs or upright members 1 are moved either toward the infant into the feeding position or away from the infant into a rest position, the crimped ends 10 prevent the lower bent portions 9 from withdrawal through slot 14, thus locking the device on the seat while in actual use. When the legs are moved into the rest position out of the infants grasp, the angled stop means 11 contacts the lip 15 of the seat side wall and limits further movement beyond the predetermined rest position. If desired, another stop means similar to 11 may be provided to limit the forward movement into the feeding position. It has been found that the infant rapidly learns how to manipulate the upright members or legs 1 to regulate the feeding operation and acquires coordination skill by so doing. Suitable handles or grips, not shown in the figures, may be placed conveniently on the upright members 1 to provide the infant with better means for grasping and manipulating the device. The infant bottle is mounted in the cradle assembly by inserting the bottom of the bottle in a rearward direction through the carrier loop 8 which grips the bottle snugly, particularly if cross member has a spring-like action and bears against the bottle. When the bottle neck is opposite carrier loop 7, it is pressed downward and snapped securely in place by the spring-like action of the carrier loop 7.

In a second preferred embodiment, shown in FIGURE 3, two bracket members are employed. Each bracket member has two upright members or legs 16 and a cross member 17 with an inverted carrier loop 18. The entire bracket may be made from a single length of heavy guage wire or tubing. Spacing of the brackets is achieved by means of a bracing arm 19 bent about the cross members 17 to form rotatable joints 20. At the lower portion of each leg 16 a bent portion 21 with a crimped end 22 is provided to permit attachment to the side Walls of an infant seat in a manner similar to that already described, this attachment means using two vertically elongated slots on each side wall of the inclined infant seat.

To operate the feeding device of FIGURE 3, the bottle is pressed downward into the two inverted carrier loops 18. The forward loop is preferably of smaller diameter than the rearward loop to permit its snug fit about the neck of the bottle and to prevent the bottle from sliding forward as the device assumes the feeding position. To feed the infant the device is moved toward the child, as shown in FIGURE 4, the weight of the bottle tending to alter the center of gravity of the device and retain the bottle in the desired feeding position until the infant grasps the upright arms 16 and moves the bottle temporarily away from his mouth.

A variety of other detachable fastening means may be used in the foregoing embodiments, provided that pivotal movement of the upright members is permitted. Another preferred detachable fastening means is shown in FIG- URE 5 and comprises a clamp 23 with a wing bolt 24 for attachment to the side edge of the infant seat 25. The bracket arm or upright member 26 of the feeding device is bent at its lower portion and is mounted through a hole in the side wall 27 of clamp 23. The bent portion is expanded or flared at its end 28 and a washer 29 is carried on the bent portion between the flared end 28 and the inner surface of the sidewall 27, permitting pivotal movement of the upright member 26 about the mounting hole.

From the foregoing description further modifications and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the embodiments disclosed are intended only to illustrate the invention without limiting the scope thereof.

I claim as my invention:

1. A baby feeding device suitable for mounting on an infant seat which comprises two bracket members in juxtaposed relationship, each of said bracket members having a cross member and two downwardly extending legs, said cross members carrying bottle retaining means, spacing members rotatably attached to and connecting said cross members, detachable fastening means at the lower portion of each of said downwardly extending legs, and means for pivotal movement of said legs about said fastening means.

2. The baby feeding device of claim 1 in which each of said cross members carries a downwardly extending carrier loop forming a bottle cradle.

3. The baby feeding device of claim 2 in which one of said carrier loops is of smaller radius than the other carrier loop.

4. The baby feeding device of claim 1 in which at least one of said legs has a stop means associated therewith for restricting movement of said legs in one direction.

5. An infant seat capable of holding a baby in an inclined feeding position having detachably fastened to the sides thereof the baby feeding device of claim 1.

References 62111511 in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 226,053 Finnegan Mar. 30, 1880 1,374,667 La Paugh Apr. 12, 1921 1,461,343 Bannon July 10, 1923 1,634,162 Tesk June 28, 1927 2,746,702 Gourley et a1. May 22, 1956 2,766,088 Jackson et a1. Oct. 9, 1956 3,101,972 Laughlin Aug. 27, 1963 FOREIGN PATENTS 182,360 Great Britain July 6, 1922 1,081,374 France June 9, 1954 

1. A BABY FEEDING DEVICE SUITABLE FOR MOUNTING ON AN INFANT SEAT WHICH COMPRISES TWO BRACKET MEMBERS IN JUXTAPOSED RELATIONSHIP, EACH OF SAID BRACKET MEMBERS HAVING A CROSS MEMBER AND TWO DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING LEGS, SAID CROSS MEMBERS CARRYING BOTTLE RETAINING MEANS, SPACING MEMBERS ROTATABLY ATTACHED TO AND CONNECTING SAID CROSS MEMBERS, DETACHABLE FASTENING MEANS AT THE LOWER PORTION OF EACH OF DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING LEGS, AND MEANS FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT OF SAID LEGS ABOUT SAID FASTENING MEANS. 